‘Tipp Tipp Hurray’ for big-hearted bakers raising funds for world’s poorest

THE Methodist community of Roscrea has raised almost €1,500 with a coffee morning and bake sale to support the work of international development agency, Christian Aid Ireland.

The annual fundraiser was held at Roscrea Methodist Church Hall on Friday May 10th to mark Christian Aid Week. Visitors from the wider Roscrea community enjoyed a coffee and sweet treat in exchange for a donation to support the aid agency’s work, and there was also the opportunity to buy cakes, jam and second-hand books to take home.

The event was organised by a team of people drawn from Roscrea Methodist Church, led by Gillian Kingston who is Christian Aid’s representative at the church.

Gillian is a leading lay member of the Methodist Church in Ireland. She has a deep commitment to international development and has served on the Board of Christian Aid Ireland. She and her husband Tom, a retired Methodist minister, live in Shinrone, County Offaly.

Christian Aid Ireland Chief Executive Rosamond Bennett thanked Gillian and all the bakers and helpers who made the coffee event such a success.

She continued: “Every year during Christian Aid Week, people across Ireland raise funds, act and pray for their global neighbours in a celebration of hope for a fairer world. Christian Aid Week brings people together to put our faith into action. Every prayer, every gift, every action makes a difference.”

Christian Aid Week (May 12th-18th) began in the 1950s and is thought to be Ireland’s longest-running fundraising campaign. Each year, tens of thousands of people across Ireland and the UK get involved in raising funds to support the charity’s work to reach people living in poverty and crisis around the world.

This year’s Christian Aid Week appeal focused on the charity’s work in Burundi, one of the most densely populated and poorest countries in Africa. Heavily reliant on agriculture, it’s also one of the least prepared to combat the effects of climate change, including droughts, floods and landslides. The global cost of living crisis has intensified the challenges, leaving more than 70% of the population living in poverty and more than half of children chronically malnourished.

Christian Aid has been working in Burundi since 1995 when it first offered humanitarian assistance to people surviving the civil conflict. Now, alongside local partners, the organisation helps establish Village Savings and Loans Associations. These community-led groups mean people can save and borrow money, making small businesses possible, offering reliable incomes so families can eat regularly, get medicine when they need it, and build safer homes.

One of those supported by Christian Aid and its local partner is thirty-five-year-old Aline Nibogora. A survivor of both domestic violence and homelessness, thanks to a small start-up loan, Aline was able to begin trading avocados and peanuts locally. With her profits, she bought a bicycle to transport greater quantities of goods to markets further afield and now has the money she needs to support herself and her children.

For more information or to donate, please visit caweek.ie .